A brief history of found-footage genre films

The vogue for low-budget found footage genre movies would seem to have petered out sometime after the release of "Paranormal Activity 2." But the surprise success of "The Devil Inside" shines a spotlight on Hollywood's continued, and in many ways renewed, interest in the form. In the coming months, a range of studios will take their shot at the genre, from a superhero movie at Fox to a supernatural airplane thriller at CBS. Let's take a look back at some gems from found footage past.

The vogue for low-budget found footage genre movies would seem to have petered out sometime after the release of "Paranormal Activity 2." But the surprise success of "The Devil Inside" shines a spotlight on Hollywood's continued, and in many ways renewed, interest in the form. In the coming months, a range of studios will take their shot at the genre, from a superhero movie at Fox to a supernatural airplane thriller at CBS. Let's take a look back at some gems from found footage past. (Toni Salabasev / Magnet Releasing / Phil Caruso / Paramount / Summit Entertainment / Tribeca Film)

The plot: "The Devil Inside" is the story of a woman who confesses to a triple homicide and is eventually shipped to a hospital for the criminally insane in Rome with ties to the Vatican. Twenty years later, the woman's daughter travels to Italy to find out if her mother is mentally ill or possessed. A cameraman captures the adventure as the girl teams up with two young priests who practice their own exorcism techniques outside the guidelines of the church. Like "The Exorcist" and may others before it, "The Devil Inside" follows footage of what really happens to people when they are possessed, and when an exorcism is performed on them. Breaking bones, blood, defying gravity and even unnatural windy gusts are all caught on film. What goes bump in the night: Demonically possessed people. How the footage was found: Presumably, the footage was recovered from a wrecked vehicle that inexplicably swerved into oncoming traffic, killing the daughter of a convicted, and psychotic, woman, plus a cameraman.

The plot: "The Devil Inside" is the story of a woman who confesses to a triple homicide and is eventually shipped to a hospital for the criminally insane in Rome with ties to the Vatican. Twenty years later, the woman's daughter travels to Italy to find out if her mother is mentally ill or possessed. A cameraman captures the adventure as the girl teams up with two young priests who practice their own exorcism techniques outside the guidelines of the church. Like "The Exorcist" and may others before it, "The Devil Inside" follows footage of what really happens to people when they are possessed, and when an exorcism is performed on them. Breaking bones, blood, defying gravity and even unnatural windy gusts are all caught on film. What goes bump in the night: Demonically possessed people. How the footage was found: Presumably, the footage was recovered from a wrecked vehicle that inexplicably swerved into oncoming traffic, killing the daughter of a convicted, and psychotic, woman, plus a cameraman. (Toni Salabasev / Paramount)